Moments of Victory® – Allison Maintains a Sense of Humor

Moments of Victory® – Allison Maintains a Sense of Humor

Allison Smith is the author behind the blog “The Perky Parkie”; she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 32. Read Allison’s first Moments of Victory blog post to learn more about her journey and philosophy toward living with Parkinson’s.

Briefly describe your journey since diagnosis:

While there have been ups and downs, my journey continues to be a positive one. I am now a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and have had the honor of working with individuals and families challenged by Parkinson’s. I have also been able to reach more people in the community through my blog, The Perky Parkie. Helping people makes me happy and gives me a purpose in life.

How do you live well each day?

I stay active and celebrate daily victories. Keeping a sense of humor is extremely important to me living each day well. I spend time with my dog Crash and eat lots of frozen yogurt.

What do you wish you would have known when you were diagnosed that you know now about living with Parkinson’s?

I was not alone. I had been diagnosed and gone through Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery before I even met someone with Parkinson’s disease. It would have been nice to connect with someone around my age. In the beginning, I thought I was the only one going through Parkinson’s at age 32. But now I realize there is a whole community out there and most of them are looking for someone to share their story with.

What do you wish everyone living with Parkinson’s knew about living well?

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. Exercise is just as important as taking your medication each day. Find something that you like to do, and get moving. Movement is life. Create a strong Wolfpack of people you can rely on when things get difficult. Surround yourself with positive people and remember the things that you are grateful for.

Share Your Victory

Each month, we spotlight someone from our Parkinson’s community who embodies living well today – what we call Moments of Victory®.

Your story, like Allison’s, could be featured on our blog and Facebook page so others can learn from your experiences and victories.

Trish

Alex Reinhardt

Christopher Lane

I had my first symptom of PD when I was 40 years old, and I was officially diagnosed with EOPD on January 26, 2016, I had all of the symptoms by the time I was diagnosed. Loss my sense of smell, slow gait, poor posture, poor handwriting, resting tremors. I had a couple of tests run to rule other things out. I had two neurological tests done, and the,rest is history and here I am. PD has changed my life.

Alex Reinhardt

Thank you for sharing, Christopher. While Parkinson’s does affect everybody differently, it does change the way people live their lives. By finding a way to live well everyday whether it’s through an exercise program, connecting with others, eating better etc., this large change in your life can be bit more manageable and less overwhelming.